Britain's Danny Williams, right and sporting a light beard, falls away from a left thrown by the Ukraine's Vitali Klitschko in the fifth round of their WBC heavyweight title bout in 2004. He lost it in eight Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

A Muslim boxer banned from the ring for wearing a beard is at the centre of a row that some would see as splitting hairs and others as potentially an international incident over religious beliefs.

The Amateur Boxing Association of England says it will not allow Mohammed Patel, 25, to compete unless he shaves it off, because it is bound by directives from the sport's world governing body, which declares in its rules that "a boxer shall be clean-shaved before the weigh-in. Beards and moustaches are not allowed."

Patel, who was barred from the ring when he turned up to box at Bolton Lads and Girls Club last January, says confirmation of the ruling by the ABAE council in Sheffield at the weekend discriminates against him on religious grounds.

Inayat Omarji, speaking on behalf of the Bolton Council of Mosques, told the Muslim News: "If the governing body doesn't accept the religious sensitivities, then there's a big problem."

The boxer said he was "gobsmacked" when he encountered the ban because Sikhs are allowed to box if they tie back extraneous hair with a net, according to the governing body's rules. "I didn't know what to say. When I saw the rule book, I thought: 'What can I do?'" Patel said.

An ABAE spokesman said: "It is not discriminatory. Sikhs are allowed to hold back their hair with a net, as are all boxers, so the referee can see clearly and quickly if there is a cut. The rule is there for the boxers' own safety, not to discriminate against any particular religion."

Beards are banned in professional boxing too – as the current British heavyweight champion, Danny Williams, a Muslim, discovered when he challenged Vitali Klitschko for the world title in Las Vegas five years ago. Williams threatened to withdraw from the fight if forced to cut his beard, fought anyway with a trimmed version – and was knocked out.

When Dmitriy Salita, an orthodox Jew, challenged Amir Khan for his world light-welterweight title in Newcastle, he sported a light beard that drew no objections from his opponent – and he ended up similarly inconvenienced.

The argument in Patel's case looks to have been reduced to more cerebral issues: mainly, the differing treatment of Sikhs and Muslims. An International Amateur Boxing Association spokesman said last night: "We have been speaking to ABAE and we are basically expecting them to fall into line with our rules and regulations, sooner rather than later."